Display control apparatus and control method for the same

ABSTRACT

A display control apparatus: displays an enlarged image of an enlarging area including a first focus measurement area and a focus guide corresponding to the first focus measurement area; moves the enlarging area in the captured image, in response to a moving instruction from a user that does not satisfy a predetermined condition, and displays an enlarged image of an enlarging area whose position was changed by the moving instruction and a focus guide that corresponds to the first focus measurement area; and newly sets, in response to a moving instruction from a user that satisfies the predetermined condition, a second focus measurement area in a predetermined area of an enlarging area whose position was changed by the moving instruction, and displays an enlarged image of the enlarging area and a focus guide that corresponds to the second focus measurement area.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a display control apparatus and acontrol method for the same, and more particularly to a displaytechnology for focus-related information.

Description of the Related Art

There is a problem with recent video cameras in that it is difficult tofocus with the viewfinder (VF) or small attached monitor at the time ofshooting in high resolution such as 4K shooting or 8K shooting. In orderto solve that problem, there is a function of displaying a guiderelating to focusing in a designated area, for example (Japanese PatentLaid-Open No. 2016-197180 (hereinafter, Document 1)). There is also afunction of enlarging the captured image of a designated area to assistfocusing, and there also exists a focusing function of coordinating theoperations of the camera with that function (Japanese Patent Laid-OpenNo. 2008-211630 (hereinafter, Document 2)).

According to Document 1, when enlargement of an image is instructed, theimage is displayed after being enlarged centering on adistance-measuring position. In Document 2, when a focus area within anenlarged image is moved, the area of enlarged display moves so that anenlarged image centering on the focus area is always displayed. However,in Document 1 and Document 2, the enlarging area moves in tandem withmovement of a focus detection area in the captured image. Thus, theenlarging area cannot be changed to view the surrounding situation withthe place for checking the focus state fixed on a specific object,Furthermore, it is also conceivable that after changing the enlargingarea with the place for checking the focus state fixed on a specificobject, the user might want to change the place for checking the focusstate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment of the present invention, a display control apparatuscapable of more favorably changing an enlarging area and setting a focusmeasurement area at the time of enlarged display, a control method forthe display control apparatus, a computer program and a memory mediumare provided,

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided adisplay control apparatus comprising: a memory; and at least oneprocessor and/or at least one circuit to perform the operations of thefollowing units: an enlargement unit configured to generate an enlargedimage obtained by enlarging an enlarging area of a captured image; amoving unit configured to move the enlarging area according to a movinginstruction from a user; and a control unit configured to display theenlarged image generated by the enlargement unit on a display unit,wherein the control unit executes: first display processing fordisplaying, on the display unit, an enlarged image of an enlarging areathat includes a first focus measurement area and a focus guide thatcorresponds to the first focus measurement area, second displayprocessing for, in response to the moving instruction and if the movinginstruction does not satisfy a predetermined condition, displaying, onthe display unit, an enlarged image of an enlarging area whose positionwas changed by the moving instruction and a focus guide that correspondsto the first focus measurement area, and third display processing for,in response to the moving instruction and if the moving instructionsatisfies the predetermined condition, newly setting a second focusmeasurement area in a predetermined area of an enlarging area whoseposition was changed by the moving instruction, and displaying, on thedisplay unit, an enlarged image of the enlarging area and a focus guidethat corresponds to the second focus measurement area.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda control method for a display control apparatus, comprising:displaying, on a display unit, an enlarged image of an enlarging area,which is in a captured image, that includes a first focus measurementarea and a focus guide that corresponds to the first focus measurementarea; moving the enlarging area in the captured image, in response to amoving instruction from a user that does not satisfy a predeterminedcondition, and displaying, on the display unit, an enlarged image of anenlarging area whose position was changed by the moving instruction anda focus guide that corresponds to the first focus measurement area; andnewly setting, in response to a moving instruction from a user thatsatisfies the predetermined condition, a second focus measurement areain a predetermined area of an enlarging area whose position was changedby the moving instruction, and displaying, on the display unit, anenlarged image of the enlarging area and a focus guide that correspondsto the second focus measurement area.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computerprogram for causing a computer to execute a control method for a displaycontrol apparatus, the control method comprising: displaying, on adisplay unit, an enlarged image of an enlarging area, which is in acaptured image, that includes a first focus measurement area and a focusguide that corresponds to the first focus measurement area; moving theenlarging area in the captured image, in response to a movinginstruction from a user that does not satisfy a predetermined condition,and displaying, on the display unit, an enlarged image of an enlargingarea whose position was changed by the moving instruction and a focusguide that corresponds to the first focus measurement area; and newlysetting, in response to a moving instruction from a user that satisfiesthe predetermined condition, a second focus measurement area in apredetermined area of an enlarging area whose position was changed bythe moving instruction, and displaying, on the display unit, an enlargedimage of the enlarging area and a focus guide that corresponds to thesecond focus measurement area.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of adigital camera 10.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating a light-receiving surface ofan image capture device 102.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing examples of a screen and guidedisplays that indicate a focus state.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C are diagrams showing examples of screens when anoperation is performed after enlarged display according to a firstembodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a screen after cancelingenlarged display according to the first embodiment.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are flowcharts showing processing at the time ofenlarged display according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing of display guide switchingaccording to the first embodiment.

FIGS. 8A to 8D are diagrams showing an example of a screen when anoperation is performed after enlarged display according to a secondembodiment.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are flowcharts of processing at the time of enlargeddisplay according to the second embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described withreference to the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment Hardware Configuration

FIG. 1 shows an example of the hardware configuration of a digitalcamera 10 serving as an example of a display control apparatus of afirst embodiment. In FIG. 1, a casing 100 is an external covering thatcontains many of the constituent elements of the digital camera 10.Various types of operation units (124 to 135), a display unit 107 and anexternal output unit 121 are exposed on the surface of the casing 100.An interchangeable lens 101 is a taking lens that consists of aplurality of lens groups, and includes a diaphragm in addition to beingprovided internally with a focus lens, a zoom lens, and a shift lens.

An image capture device 102 has a configuration in which a plurality ofpixels each having a photoelectric conversion element are arrayedtwo-dimensionally. The image capture device 102 performs photoelectricconversion with the pixels on an object optical image formed by theinterchangeable lens 101, and further performs analog-to-digitalconversion using an A/D conversion circuit and outputs image signals(RAW image data) in units of pixels. A distance-measuring unit 108calculates information such as a defocus amount and various types ofreliability based on output signals from the image capture device 102.Note that the image capture device 102 and the associateddistance-measuring unit 108 will be described in detail later withreference to FIGS. 2A and 2B. An ND filter 103 adjusts the amount ofincident light separately to the diaphragm provided in the lens.

An image processing unit 118 corrects level differences originating inthe image capture device 102. For example, the image processing unit 118corrects the level of pixels in an effective area, using pixels in an OBarea (optical black area). Also, the image processing unit 118 performsvarious processing such as correction using pixels neighboring adefective pixel, correction for a decrease in the amount of peripherallight, color correction, edge enhancement, noise reduction, gammacorrection, debayering and compression. The image processing unit 118outputs corrected image data to other control units when the aboveprocessing is performed on RAW image data input from the image capturedevice 102.

A memory medium I/F unit 104 is an interface between a memory medium 105and the digital camera 10, and controls recording of image data inputfrom the image processing unit 118 and reading out of recorded imagedata with respect to the memory medium 105. The memory medium 105 is amemory medium that is constituted by a semiconductor memory or the likefor recording captured images or image data, and executes recording ofimage data and reading out of recorded image data according to controlby the memory medium I/F unit 104. In the present embodiment, aremovable memory medium (e.g., memory card) is used as the memory medium105, but a built-in memory medium may also be used.

A GPU 115 is a rendering engine that renders various informationdisplays and menu screens of the video camera in a VRAM (not shown), andis provided with an enlargement-reduction rendering function, a rotationrendering function and a layer compositing function, in addition to afunction of rendering character strings and graphics. The VRAM isprovided with an alpha channel representing transmittance, and is ableto perform onscreen display of contents rendered in the VRAM on acaptured image or a playback image using a display I/F unit 106.

The display I/F unit 106 performs superimposing/compositing and resizingprocessing on image data (captured images, playback images) from theimage processing unit 118 and display contents rendered in the VRAM bythe GPU 115, and the processing results are output to (displayed on) thedisplay unit 107. When in an enlarged display mode, the display I/F unit106 performs superimposing/compositing and resizing processing on apartial area of video data. In the enlarged display mode, video enlargedto greater than normal is displayed on the display unit 107, thusenabling the image taker to perform a focus adjustment operation bymanual focusing (hereinafter, MF) more accurately. The display unit 107includes an external monitor and a display unit within the finder thatare viewable from the casing 100 side and display image data output bythe display I/F unit 106 for use in checking the angle of view. Thedisplay unit 107 can be constituted by a liquid crystal display, anorganic light-emitting diode display or the like.

A microcomputer 119 is a control unit that performs overall control ofthe operations of the digital camera 10, and is constituted by amicrocomputer or the like. The microcomputer 119 is provided with a CPU119 a, a ROM 119 b, and a RAM 119 c. The CPU 119 a executes theoperations of the various flowcharts described later, by extractingcomputer programs stored in the ROM 119 b to the RAM 119 c and executingthe programs.

A gain control unit 109, a shutter control unit 110, an ND control unit111 and a diaphragm control unit 112 are all blocks for exposurecontrol. These blocks are controlled by the microcomputer 119, based onluminance levels calculated by the microcomputer 119 from the image dataoutput by the image processing unit 118 or based on operation parametersmanually set by the image taker. The gain control unit 109 controls thegain of the image capture device 102. The shutter control unit 110controls the shutter speed of the image capture device 102. The NDcontrol unit 111 controls the amount of light that is incident on theimage capture device 102 via the ND filter 103. The diaphragm controlunit 112 controls the diaphragm of the interchangeable lens 101.

A focus control unit 113 performs operations that differ depending onwhether a focus drive state of the digital camera 10 by themicrocomputer 119 is autofocus (hereinafter, An or manual focus(hereinafter, MF). When the focus drive state is AF, the microcomputer119 calculates focus information relating to focusing with reference tothe image data output by the image processing unit 118, and the focuscontrol unit 113 controls the focus lens within the interchangeable lens101 based on that focus information. Alternatively, in AF, the focuscontrol unit 113 controls the focus lens within the interchangeable lens101 on the basis of the defocus amount output by the distance-measuringunit 108 by image capture surface phase difference detection. When thefocus drive state is MF, the focus control unit 113 stops AF control. Inthis case, the image taker is able to perform suitable focus adjustmentby rotating a focus ring 134 incorporated in the interchangeable lens101.

Note that, in AF of the present embodiment, an AF frame is set in apartial area of image data, and focus information is calculated basedonly on the object within the AF frame. Also, AF of the presentembodiment is provided with two AF operation modes, namely, a one-shotAF mode and a continuous AF mode (servo AF). In the one-shot AF mode, AFcontrol is only performed when a one-shot AF key 129 is pressed, andcontrol by the focus control unit 113 stops after focusing success orfocusing failure is determined. In the continuous AF mode, AF control isalways performed. Even in the continuous AF mode, however, control bythe focus control unit 113 is stopped, when in an AF lock state due toan AF lock key 130 being pressed. Switching of these two AF operationmodes is performed by changing the settings on a menu screen.

An antivibration control unit 114 performs optical antivibrationprocessing for controlling the shift lens within the interchangeablelens 101 so as to offset blurring on the basis of motion vectors of theobject calculated by the microcomputer 119 with reference to the imagedata output by the image processing unit 118. Alternatively, theantivibration control unit 114 may perform electronic antivibrationprocessing for clipping images in each frame of a moving image in adirection that offsets image blur caused by camera shake.

A memory I/F unit 116 writes RAW image data for all of the pixels outputby the image capture device 102 to a memory 117, and also reads out RAWimage data held in the memory 117 and outputs that image data to theimage processing unit 118. The memory 117 is a volatile storage mediumthat stores several frames worth of RAW image data for all of thepixels. The image processing unit 118 performs image processing requiredfor control on the RAW image data for all of the pixels sent from thememory I/F unit 116.

An external output I/F unit 120 performs resize processing on video datafrom the image processing unit 118. Also, the external output I/F unit120 performs signal conversion that conforms to the standard of theexternal output unit 121 and assignment of control signals on the videodata, and outputs the resultant video data to the external output unit121. The external output unit 121 is a terminal that outputs the videodata externally, and is, for example, an SDI (Serial Digital Interface)terminal or an HDMI (registered trademark) (High-Definition MultimediaInterface) terminal. External devices such as a monitor display and anexternal recording apparatus are connectable to the external output unit121.

An external operation IX unit 122 is an interface that receives controlinstructions issued by an external operation unit 123, and notifiesthose control instructions to the microcomputer 119. The externaloperation I/F unit 122 corresponds, for example, to an infrared remotecontrol light-receiving unit, a wireless LAN (Local Area Network)interface or LANC (registered trademark) (Local Application Control bussystem). The external operation unit 123 transmits control instructions(control commands) to the external operation I/F unit 122. The externaloperation unit 123, in addition to being able to transmit instructions(commands) corresponding to the operations of the constituent elementsof the operation units (124 to 135) incorporated in the casing 100 orthe interchangeable lens 101, is also able to transmit setting changeinformation on a menu screen that is displayed on the display unit 107.

The operation units from a menu key 124 to an AF/MF switch 135 areconstituted by members such as keys (buttons), a dial, a tact switch, aring and a touch panel. All of these operation units accept operationsfrom the image taker and play a role in notifying control instructionsto the microcomputer 119. The menu key 124 to a START/STOP key 133 areoperation units on the main body side that are assembled to the casing100. The focus ring 134 and the AF/MF switch 135 are operation units onthe lens side that are assembled to the interchangeable lens 101. Withsome of these operation units, it is also possible to interchange therole of keys and to assign different functions, through settings on amenu screen.

The menu key 124 gives an instruction for displaying a menu screen onthe display unit 107, and an instruction for closing a menu screen thatis already open. A D-pad 125 and a dial 126 both give instructions formoving a cursor for selecting items on a menu screen, and for movingframe display relating to focusing in a direction that is desired by theimage taker. The D-pad 125 is an arrow key that consists of an up key, adown key, a left key and a right key, which may be separate operationmembers, or may be constituted as one operation member and such that oneof up, down, left and right can be instructed according to the positionthat is pressed. The dial 126 is a rotational operation member on whicha clockwise operation and a counterclockwise operation can be performed.

A SET key 127 gives instructions for selecting an item at which thecursor is positioned on a menu screen, and for determining various typesof selling operations. A CANCEL key 128 gives instructions for returningto the previous layer when making a selection at a deep layer on a menuscreen, and for discarding various types of setting operations. Theone-shot AF key 129, when the AF mode is the one-shot AF, gives aninstruction for driving AF using the focus control unit 113. The AF lockkey 130, when the AF mode is the continuous AF, gives a stop instructionfor stopping control by the focus control unit 113, and a cancelinstruction for canceling the state in which control is stopped.

An enlargement key 131 gives instructions for enlarging video that isdisplayed on the display unit 107 and returning enlarged video to theoriginal size. A DISPLAY key 132 gives an instruction for changing aDisp level that is held by the microcomputer 119. The display of variousinformation on the display unit 107 is restricted, based on the selectedDisp level, and more detailed information can be displayed or video canbe displayed more clearly. A START/STOP key 133 gives instructions forstarting and stopping recording by the memory medium I/F unit 104. Thefocus ring 134, when the focus drive state is MF, is able to move thefocus lens within the interchangeable lens 101, and perform focusadjustment. The AF/MF switch 135 gives instructions for alternatelyswitching the focus drive state, that is, between AF and MF.

Image Capture Surface Phase Difference Detection

FIGS. 2A and 2B show part of a light-receiving surface of the imagecapture device 102 serving as an image sensor. In the image capturedevice 102, pixel units that each hold two photodiodes, which arelight-receiving units serving as photoelectric conversion means, withrespect to one micro lens are arranged in an array, in order to enableimage capture surface phase difference AF. Luminous flux obtained bysplitting the exit pupil of the interchangeable lens 101 can thereby bereceived with each pixel unit. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram showingpart of an image sensor surface employing a non-image capture surfacephase difference method that has red (R), blue (B) and green (Gb, Gr)color filters in an exemplary Bayer array. FIG. 2B shows an example ofpixel units employing an image capture surface phase difference methodthat each hold two photodiodes serving as photoelectric conversion meanswith respect to one micro lens, in correspondence with the array ofcolor filters in FIG. 2A.

The image capture device 102 having the configuration of FIG. 2B is ableto output two signals for use in phase difference detection(hereinafter, also referred to as an A image signal and a B imagesignal) from each pixel unit. The image capture device 102 is also ableto output a signal for use in image capture recording obtained by addingthe signals (A image signal+B image signal) of the two photodiodes. Inthe case of the added signal, a signal equivalent to the output of theimage sensor of the exemplary Bayer array schematically described withFIG. 2A is output.

Using such output signals from the image capture device 102 serving asan image sensor, the distance-measuring unit 108 performs a computationfor correlating the two image signals, and calculates information suchas the defocus amount and various types of reliability. That is, thedistance-measuring unit 108 calculates the defocus amount on the imagecapture surface, based on the shift between the A image signal and the Bimage signal. The defocus amount has a positive or negative value, andthe determination as to front-focused or rear-focused can be madedepending on whether the defocus amount is a positive value or anegative value. Also, the degree of focus can be determined by theabsolute value of the defocus amount, with a defocus amount of 0indicating a focused state. That is, the distance-measuring unit 108outputs information indicating front-focused or rear-focused to the CPU119 a and the like on the basis of the positive or negative value of thedefocus amount calculated for a focus measurement area which is adistance-measuring position (distance-measuring area, focus detectionposition, focus detection area). Also, the distance-measuring unit 108outputs degree-of-focus information which is the degree of focus (degreeof shift from being in focus) to the CPU 119 a and the like, based onthe absolute value of the defocus amount. The distance-measuring unit108 outputs information indicating front-focused or rear-focused in thecase where the defocus amount exceeds a predetermined value, and outputsinformation indicating the focused state in the case where the absolutevalue of the defocus amount is within a predetermined value. Note thatthe degree-of-focus information is output as a value obtained byconverting the defocus amount into an operation amount for rotating thefocus ring 134 to achieve the focused state.

Note that, in the present embodiment, the image capture device 102outputs a total of three signals consisting of a signal for use in imagecapture and two signals for use in phase difference detection, but isnot limited to such a configuration. For example, a configuration may beadopted in which a total of two signals are output, namely, the signalfor use in image capture and one of the two signals for use in phasedifference AF. In this case, the one of the two signals for use in phasedifference detection that is not output is calculated utilizing theabove two output signals from the image capture device 102.

Also, FIGS. 2A and 2B show an example in which pixel units each holdingtwo photodiodes serving as photoelectric conversion means with respectto one micro lens are arranged in an array, but the present invention isnot limited thereto. For example, a configuration may be adopted inwhich pixel units each holding three or more photodiodes serving asphotoelectric conversion means with respect to one micro lens arearranged in an array. Also, a configuration may be adopted in which aplurality of pixel units each having a different opening position of thelight-receiving unit in relation to the micro lens are provided. Inother words, it is sufficient if two signals for use in phase differencedetection that enable phase difference detection, namely, the A imagesignal and the B image signal, are obtained as a result.

Assist Function and Exemplary Screens

The digital camera 10 in the present embodiment is provided with a“focus guide” function and a “captured image enlarged display” functionas focus assist functions. The “focus guide” function is a mode in whichthe focus state of an area designated by the user is indicated with anindex, and, using the index, the user is able to check whether the focusstate is the focused state (state where the object in the focusdetection area is in focus), front-focused or rear-focused. “Capturedimage enlarged display” is a function for displaying a captured image ofan area designated by the user at a suitable magnification, and enablesthe user to check the captured image in greater detail. Exemplarydisplay of screens at the time of execution of the “focus guide”function and the “captured image enlarged display” function will bedescribed with FIGS. 3A and. 3B, FIGS. 4A to 4C, and FIG. 5.

A screen 300 in FIG. 3A is an example of a screen that is displayed onthe display unit 107, and an object 303 and an object 304 are part ofthe image data from the image processing unit 118. Also, on the screen,a recordable time period 301, a recording time code 302 and a focusguide 307 (rectangular focus guide frame 305 and triangle index 306) areall superimposed as OSD on the image data. This OSD is contents that theGPU 115 rendered in the VRAM for OSD according to an instruction of theCPU 119 a. As aforementioned, the screen 300 of FIG. 3A is displayed onthe display unit 107 by the GPU 115 compositing the VRAM for OSD andvideo data.

Note that the focus index that is displayed as the focus guide 307changes according to the focus state. The focus index represents thefocus state by changing the display form of the rectangular focus guideframe 305 that indicates the focus measurement area and the display formof the plurality of triangle indices 306 positioned thereabove. Examplesof such focus indices are shown in FIG. 3B. A focus index 310 is afocused state (state where the object in the focus detection area is infocus), and is constituted by the focus guide frame 305 and the triangleindex 306 that consists of two facing triangles positioned thereabove. Afocus index 311 indicates that the focus state is rear-focused state.The focus index 311 differs from the focus index 310 and indicates thatthe focus state is not the focused state by the upper triangles of thetriangle index 306 positioned above the focus guide frame 305 beingseparated, and indicates the shift amount from the focused state by theangle of the triangles that are separated. Also, since the focus stateis not the focused state, the focus guide frame 305 indicating the focusmeasurement area is shown with square brackets. A focus index 312indicates that the focus state is the front-focused state. The focusindex 312 differs from the focus index 311, with the lower triangles ofthe triangle index 306 positioned above the focus guide frame 305 beingseparated. The user can distinguish the front-focused and rear-focusedstates by which of the upper and lower triangles are separated.

A focus index 313 indicates that the focus state is a very blurred statein which determination as to front-focused or rear-focused failed (i.e.,distance-measuring failed). A focus index 314 indicates a sub-frame. Thesub-frame will always be a fixed display (only show a position), sincethe user is able to dispose the sub-frame at the position where thepervious focus state was checked or at a position where he or she wantsto check the focus state next, and the focus state of the sub-frame isnot shown as an index. Switching of the sub-frame and the (main) focusguide will be described with FIG. 5.

As described above, the user is able to check the focus state of atarget area, as a result of the focus indices 310 to 314 being displayedas a focus guide. Accordingly, the focus indices 310 to 314 help inchecking whether focus adjustment has been performed as intended by theuser, when performing a MF operation or the like. Note that the focusindices 310 to 314 are examples that visually represent the focus state,and the focus state may be represented with colors or other means ofexpression. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which thefocus guide frame 305 of the focus index 310 is shown with a greenrectangle and the focus guide frame 305 of the other focus indices isshown with a red rectangle. Alternatively, the focus state may berepresented by the change in the display form of the focus guide frame305, and the triangle index 306 may be omitted.

FIGS. 4A to 4C show examples of screens that are displayed on thedisplay unit 107 at the time of the operation of the “captured imageenlarged display” function. In FIG. 4A, an enlarging area 401 and anenlarging area 402, which are the areas of the image that are targetedfor enlarged display, exist on a screen 300. The enlarging areas 401 and402 and an arrow therebetween have been made visible in order tofacilitate description. When the user executes the “captured imageenlarged display” function in the state where the screen 300 isdisplayed, the area of the enlarging area 401 centering on the focusguide frame 305 is enlarged, and an image of the area of the enlargingarea 401 is displayed on the display unit 107, This enlargementprocessing is performed by the image processing unit 118 or the GPU 115.Also, the area of the enlarging area 401 is enlarged centering on thefocus guide frame 305 (focus measurement area)

After execution of the “captured image enlarged display” function, it ispossible for the user to move the position of the enlarging area(hereinafter, enlarging position) using the D-pad 125. Examples ofscreens that are displayed on the display unit 107, when the enlargingarea 401 is moved rightward to the position of the enlarging area 402,for example, are shown in FIG. 4B and FIG. 4C. This operation ispremised on the user performing an operation for focusing on e object303 and, thereafter, for focusing on the object 304. This operationenables shooting in which focus shifts from a specific person to anotherperson to be performed. The images that are displayed on the screen 300in FIG. 4B and FIG. 4C are enlarged images obtained by the images of therespective enlarging areas being enlarged.

In FIG. 4B, b1 to b4 are exemplary screen displays illustrating theproblem of the present invention. In FIG. 4B, an enlarged displayposition index 403 is newly displayed on the screen 300 as DSD togetherwith the enlarged image. Using this enlarged display position index 403,the user is able to check which area of the entire captured image hasbeen enlarged and the magnification. The exemplary screen b1 shows ascreen obtained by the enlarging area 401 centering on the focus guideframe 305 being displayed in an enlarged manner, and the entire object303 is displayed. At this time, the focus guide 307 (the focus guideframe 305 and the triangle index 306) is also displayed in an enlargedmanner. When the user presses the right key of the D-pad 125 in thisstate, the enlarging position moves and the display area further on theright side is enlarged. The exemplary screen b2 is an example of ascreen that is displayed on the display unit 107 when the user pressesthe right key of the D-pad 125 several times in the state of theexemplary screen bit. In this state, about 80 percent of the object 303and the focus guide frame 305 is visible. Although the area of enlargeddisplay has changed from the exemplary screen hi, the position of thefocus guide frame 305 in the entire captured image is fixed (fixed atthe position of the object 303). Accordingly, the user is able tocontinue to check the focus state (degree of focus) of the object 303.

The exemplary screen b3 is an example of a screen that is displayed onthe display unit 107 when the user presses the right key of the D-pad125 several times from the state of the exemplary screen b2. In thisstate, the object 303 and the focus guide frame 305 are not visible, andpart of the object 304 is visible. The exemplary screen b4 is an exampleof a screen that is displayed on the display unit 107 when the userpresses the right key of the D-pad 125 several times in the state of theexemplary screen b3. In this state, the entire object 304 is visible. Inthis way, the focus guide is no longer displayed when the enlargingposition is shifted such that the object 304 is centered in order forthe user to check the focus state of the object 304. Thus, in thisstate, the user is unable to check the focus state in detail using thefocus guide. In order to check the focus state of the object 304 withthe focus guide, the user needs to move the focus guide after firstcanceling the “captured image enlarged display”.

In FIG. 4C. c1 to c4 are exemplary screen displays according to thepresent embodiment which solves the above problem. Processing forrealizing such display will be described with the flowchart of FIG. 7.The enlarged display position index 403 is also displayed as OSD on thescreen 300 in FIG. 4C together with the enlarged image, similarly toFIG. 4B. The exemplary screen c1 is a screen obtained by the enlargingarea 401 centering on the focus guide frame 305 being displayed in anenlarged manner, and the entire object 303 is displayed. At this time,the focus guide 307 is also displayed in an enlarged manner. When theuser presses the right key of the D-pad 125 in this state, the enlargingposition moves and the display area further on the right side isenlarged. The exemplary screen c2 is an example of a screen that isdisplayed on the display unit 107 when the user presses the right key ofthe D-pad 125 several times in the state of the exemplary screen In thisstate, about 80 percent of the object 303 and the focus guide frame 305is visible. Although the area of enlarged display has changed from theexemplary screen c1, the position of the focus guide frame 305 in theentire captured image is fixed (fixed at the position of the object303). Accordingly, the user is able to continue to check the focus state(degree of focus) of the object 303.

The exemplary screen c3 is an example of a screen that is displayed onthe display unit 107 when the user presses the right key of the D-pad125 several times in the state of the exemplary screen c2. In thisstate, the focus guide frame 305 is no longer visible (the focusmeasurement area left the enlarging area), and thus a focus guide isnewly displayed in the center of the screen. The exemplary screen c4 isan example of a screen that is displayed on the display unit 107 whenthe user presses the right key of the D-pad 125 several times in thestate of the exemplary screen c3. In this state, the entire object 304is visible, and the focus guide is displayed in the center of thescreen. As shown in the exemplary screen c3, the focus state of the areathat is being displayed in an enlarged manner can be checked, bydisplaying a new focus guide fixed at the position of the center of thescreen, when the focus guide leaves the screen display area and is nolonger visible. Also, in the case of wanting to check the focus state ofthe object 304, the user is able to check the focus state of the object304, by shifting the enlarging position so that the object 304 iscentered. According to the above, the user is able to check the focusstate of the object 304 using a focus guide, without going to thetrouble of canceling the “captured image enlarged display”.

Note that, in the above, a focus guide frame is newly displayed in thecenter of the screen on condition that the focus guide frame 305 is nolonger displayed, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Forexample, a configuration may be adopted in which a new focus measurementarea is set in the center of the screen and a focus guide is displayedon condition of a predetermined percentage of the rectangular frame(i.e., focus measurement area) of the focus guide frame 305 no longerbeing displayed (50 percent or more, 80 percent or more, etc.). Also, aconfiguration may be adopted in which a new focus measurement area isset in the center of the screen and a focus guide is displayed, oncondition that the focus guide frame 305 has left or has reached thepoint of leaving a predetermined area inside the screen (an area on theperiphery of the screen edge having a predetermined distance from thescreen edge). In the case where a new focus measurement area is set, asub-frame may be displayed at the position of the focus guide that wasdisplayed up to that point in time. Also, the position of the focusguide that was displayed up to that point in time (position of themeasurement area) may be stored in the RAM 119 c or the like. Also, theoperation of moving the enlarging area is not limited to the right-leftdirection, and may be the up-down direction.

FIG. 5 shows examples of screen displays that are displayed on thedisplay unit 107 when the sub-frame display of the “focus guide”function is in an enabled state. As aforementioned, the “focus guide”function is a function that enables the user to dispose the sub-frame atthe position where the previous focus state was checked or at a positionwhere the user wants to check the focus state next. Sub-frame displaycan be switched ON and OFF on a menu, and the default value is thecenter of the screen. When the SET key 127 is pressed in a state wherethe focus guide frame and the sub-frame are displayed, the focus guideframe is displayed at the position of the sub-frame and the sub-frame isdisplayed at the position where the focus guide frame was originallydisplayed, That is, the SET key 127 interchanges the position of thesub-frame and the position of the focus guide frame. In this way, theSET key 127 functions as a switching unit for switching the position ofthe sub-frame and the position of the focus guide frame. For example,when the SET key 127 is pressed in the state of 5A in FIG. 5, thesub-frame 308 and the focus guide 307 are switched, as shown in 5B inFIG. 5. Similarly, when the SET key 127 is pressed in the state of thedisplay of 5B in FIG. 5, the sub-frame 308 and the focus guide 307 areswitched to the display state of 5A in FIG. 5.

Processing of Assist Function

FIGS. 6A and 6B are flowcharts showing control when the “captured imageenlarged display” function is enabled and the digital camera 10 isoperated at the time that the “focus guide” function is in an enabledstate. The processing that is shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 6A and 6Bis realized, by the CPU 119 a reading out a computer program from theROM 119 b and then extracting and executing the program in the RAM 119c. This flowchart is started by the “captured image enlarged display”function being enabled at the time that the “focus guide” function is inan enabled state, when the operation mode is the shooting mode. Notethat, in the flowchart, the “captured image enlarged display” is shownusing the abbreviation “Magn”.

In S601, the CPU 119 a calculates the focus measurement area from theposition of the current focus guide frame, and stores the calculatedfocus measurement area in the RAM 119 c. In S602, the CPU 119 adetermines the enlarging position from the position of the focus guideframe. Here, the CPU 119 a determines the enlarging position such thatthe position of the focus guide frame is centered. In S603, the CPU 119a generates an enlarged image from the captured image on the basis ofthe enlarging position determined in step S602, and displays theenlarged image on the display unit 107. This processing for enlargingthe captured image is performed by the image processing unit 118 or theGPU 115.

In step S604, the CPU 119 a acquires the focus state of the focusmeasurement area (refer to the description of FIGS. 2A and 2B regardingthe calculation method), and updates the focus guide. Updating of thefocus guide involves displaying the focus guide using one of the focusindices shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B that has been selected according to thefocus state. Note that in the case of the focus index 311 or the focusindex 312, the triangle index (angle of the triangles) that is displayedabove the focus guide frame 305 changes depending on the focus state. Asdescribed above, the processing of steps S601 to S604 is first displayprocessing for displaying an enlarged image of the enlarging area thatincludes the focus measurement area and a focus guide corresponding tothe focus measurement area on the display unit 107.

In step S605, the CPU 119 a determines whether there has been a useroperation. If it is determined that there has not been a user operation,the CPU 119 a returns the processing to step S604, and repeats theupdating of the focus guide frame in accordance with the change in theshooting situation and the determination of whether or not there hasbeen a user operation. If it is determined that there has been a useroperation, the CPU 119 a, in step S606, determines whether the useroperation accepted in step S605 is an instruction for canceling the“captured image enlarged display”. If it is determined that the useroperation is an instruction for canceling the “captured image enlargeddisplay”, the processing advances to step S616, and if it is determinedthat the user operation is not an instruction for canceling the“captured image enlarged display”, the processing advances to step S607.

In step S607, the CPU 119 a determines whether with the user operationaccepted in step S605 is a move instruction for moving the enlargingposition of the “captured image enlarged display”. If it is determinedthat the user operation is not an instruction for moving the enlargingposition of the “captured image enlarged display”, the CPU 119 a returnsthe processing to step S604. On the other hand, if it is determined thatthe user operation accepted in step S605 is an instruction for movingthe enlarging position of the “captured image enlarged display”, theprocessing advances to step S608. In step S608, the CPU 119 a changesthe enlarging position and updates the enlarged image. That is, the CPU119 a calculates the enlarging position according to the operationdetermined in step S607, enlarges the image of the enlarging area basedon the calculated enlarging position to generate an enlarged image, andupdates the display of the display unit 107. As described above, theprocessing of step S607 is second display processing for displaying anenlarged image of the enlarging area after moving according to the moveinstruction from the user on the display unit 107.

Next, in step S609, the CPU 119 a determines whether the focusmeasurement area is displayed on the screen. If it is determined thatthe focus measurement area is displayed on the screen, the CPU 119 areturns the processing to step S604, and repeats the above processing.In the first embodiment, whether or not the focus measurement area isdisplayed on the screen is determined by whether or not the focus guideframe is displayed on the screen. Thus, if even part of the focus guideframe is displayed on the screen as with exemplary screen c2 in FIG. 4C,it is assumed that the focus measurement area is displayed on thescreen. As a result of the processing to step S609, the focusmeasurement area is maintained while the focus guide frame is beingdisplayed on the screen.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S609 that the focusmeasurement area is not displayed on the screen, the CPU 119 a, in stepS610, stores the current focus measurement area in the PAM 119 c as asub-frame area. In step S611, the CPU 119 a then stores a central areaof the current enlarging area in the RAM 119 c as the focus measurementarea, and further acquires the focus state of the set focus measurementarea and updates the focus guide. The processing for updating the focusguide here is the same as step S604. That is, the focus guide frame 305is displayed at the position of the new focus measurement area, and thetriangle index 306 is displayed thereabove. The display form of thefocus guide frame 305 and the triangle index 306 is based on the focusstate measured for the new focus measurement area.

As described above, the processing of step S609 is third displayprocessing for newly setting a focus measurement area in a predeterminedarea of the enlarging area after being moved, when the movinginstruction satisfies a predetermined condition, and displaying theenlarged image of this enlarging area and a focus guide corresponding tothe new focus measurement area on the display unit 107. Note that thepredetermined condition is the entire focus measurement area leaving thescreen, and the predetermined area is the central area.

In step S612, the CPU 119 a determines whether there has been a useroperation. If there has not been a user operation, the CPU 119 a repeatsthe processing of step S611 and step S612, and updates the focus guideframe in accordance with the change in the shooting situation. If it isdetermined in step S612 that there has been a user operation, theprocessing advances to step S613. In step S613, the CPU 119 a determineswhether the user operation accepted in step S612 is an instruction forcanceling the “captured image enlarged display”. If it is determinedthat the user operation is an instruction for canceling the “capturedimage enlarged display”, the processing advances to step S616, and if itis determined that the user operation is not an instruction forcanceling the “captured image enlarged display”, the processing advancesto step S614.

In step S614, the CPU 119 a determines whether the user operationaccepted in step S612 is an instruction for moving the enlargingposition of the “captured image enlarged display”. If it is determinedthat an instruction for moving the enlarging position of the “capturedimage enlarged display” has been received, the processing advances tostep S615. On the other hand, if it is determined that the useroperation is not an instruction for moving the enlarging position of the“captured image enlarged display”, the processing returns to step S611and the abovementioned processing is repeated. In step S615, the CPU 119a moves the enlarging position (enlarging area), generates an enlargedimage of the enlarging position after being moved, and displays theenlarged image on the display unit 107. Thereafter, the processingreturns to step S611, and the abovementioned processing from step S611onward is repeated.

Steps S616 and S617 involve processing for canceling the “captured imageenlarged display”. In step S616, the CPU 119 a cancels enlargement ofthe captured image. As a result of canceling enlargement, the entirecaptured image is displayed on the display unit 107. In step S617, theCPU 119 a then updates display of the focus guide frame and thesub-frame, and completes the processing for canceling the “capturedimage enlarged display”. Specifically, the CPU 119 a acquires the focusstate of the focus measurement area and updates the focus guide frame,and acquires the focus state of the sub-frame area and updates thesub-frame. For example, display such as shown in 5A in FIG. 5 will beperformed when the processing for canceling the “captured image enlargeddisplay” is performed in the state of the exemplary screen c4 in FIG.4C.

Note that, in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the focus measurement area and thesub-frame area are stored in the RAM 119 c, but may be stored in the ROM119 b that maintains the memory contents even after power supply hasbeen turned off. Also, the horizontal and vertical size of the focusmeasurement area and the sub-frame area is not particularly limited.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing control when sub-frame switching isexecuted at the time that the “focus guide” function is in an enabledstate. The processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7 is realized, bythe CPU 119 a reading out a computer program from the ROM 119 b and thenextracting and executing the program in the RAM 119 c. This flowchart isstarted by the “focus guide” function being enabled when the operationmode is the shooting mode. As described above, the SET key 127 functionsas a switching unit that accepts a switching instruction by the user.Note that, in FIG. 3B. display of the focus index 314 of the sub-framedoes not indicate the focus state, but the display form may be changedaccording to the focus state as with the focus guide 307, even with thefocus index 314 of the sub-frame. The flowchart of FIG. 7 shows the casewhere processing in which the display form of the sub-frame is updatedaccording to the focus state is included. Note that, in this case,acquisition of the focus state and update processing are also performedin the flowcharts of FIGS. 6A and 6B, in the same manner as the focusguide, if the sub-frame is displayed.

In step S701, the CPU 119 a acquires the focus state of the focusmeasurement area, and performs processing for updating the focus guide.The processing for updating the focus guide is similar to FIG, 6A (stepS604). Next, in step S702, the CPU 119 a acquires the focus state of thesub-frame area, and performs processing for updating the sub-frame.Next, in step S703, the CPU 119 a determines whether the SET key 127 hasbeen pressed. If it is determined that the SET key 127 has not beenpressed, the processing returns to step S701, and abovementionedprocessing is repeated. On the other hand, if it is determined in stepS703 that the SET key 127 has been pressed, the processing advances tostep S704.

In step S704, the CPU 119 a switches the positions of the focusmeasurement area and the sub-frame area. Next, in step S705, the CPU 119a acquires the focus state of the focus measurement area, and performsprocessing for updating the focus guide frame. In step S706, the CPU 119a then acquires the focus state of the sub-frame area, and performsprocessing for updating the sub-frame. Processing for switching thesub-frame is thus ends.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, a central area onthe screen that is displayed is set as the focus measurement area(exemplary screen c3, exemplary screen c4 in FIG. 4C), in the case wherethe focus guide frame is no longer displayed due to a change in theenlarging position after the “captured image enlarged display” wasenabled. Thus, checking of the focus state of an object whose focus theuser wants to check next can be realized without changing the positionof the focus guide frame. That is, in the case of wanting to checkanother focus state when in enlarged display, the user is able to checkthe focus state at a prescribed location, without going to the troubleof canceling enlarged display and moving the focus guide frame.Furthermore, the position of the focus guide frame before being changedis stored as a sub-frame, even assuming the position of the focus guideframe has changed after “captured image enlarged display” is enabled.Thus, it is possible for the user to easily return to the position ofthe original focus guide frame (FIG. 5), and an apparatus can beprovided that is user-friendly even for a user who wants to return thefocus guide frame to the original position.

Note that the processing for switching the focus guide frame and thesub-frame described using FIG. 7 may also be performed during enlargeddisplay. In this case, the enlarging area that is targeted for enlargeddisplay is also desirably switched, in response to the switching of thefocus guide frame and the sub-frame during enlarged display, to an areacentering on the focus guide frame after the switching. Enlarged displayof the object at the position of the focus guide frame and enlargeddisplay of the object of the position of the sub-frame can thereby beswitched easily and quickly. For example, the display state of theexemplary screen c1 in FIG. 4C and the display state of the exemplaryscreen c4 in FIG. 4C switch whenever the SET key 127 is pressed. Notethat a configuration may be adopted in which changing of the enlargingarea is executed, according to whether or not the focus guide frame andthe sub-frame both fit in the enlarged display area. That is, aconfiguration may be adopted in which, in the case where both frames fitin the enlarged display area, the enlarging area is not changed evenwhen the frames are switched in response to the SET key 127 beingpressed. On the other hand, in the case where the SET key 127 is pressedin a state where at least one of the frames does not fit in the enlargeddisplay area, the enlarging area is changed such that the position ofthe frame that is the new focus guide frame is centered.

Second Embodiment

In the first embodiment, the focus guide frame is displayed in a centralarea of enlarged display, when the focus guide frame leaves the screen(leaves the enlarging area). However, the present invention is notlimited thereto. In the second embodiment, the focus guide frame isdisplayed in a central area of enlarged display, in the case where theoperation for moving the enlarging area exceeds a predetermined numberof times. Note that the hardware configuration is similar to the firstembodiment.

FIGS. 8A to 8D show examples of screens that are displayed on thedisplay unit 107 when the “captured image enlarged display” function isoperated in the second embodiment. Unlike the exemplary screen c2 inFIG. 4C, in the state of FIG. 8B, a focus guide frame 801 is displayedin the center of the enlarged display. Since the operation for movingthe enlarging area exceeds a predetermined operation amount, when havingmoved from the enlarging position of the screen display of FIG. 8A. tothe enlarging position of the screen display of FIG. 8B, the focus guideframe 801 is displayed in a central area of the enlarged display. Atthis time, a sub-frame 802 is displayed at the position where the focusguide frame was displayed up to that point in time. In subsequent screendisplays (FIG. 8C, FIG. 8D), the previous focus measurement area(sub-frame 802) disappears from the screen, and the display contents aresimilar to the exemplary screens c3 and c4 in FIG, 4C. Note that themove operation that is targeted for measurement of the operation amountis not limited to the left-right direction. In the case where totaloperation amount of the move operation in the up-down and left-rightdirections exceeds a predetermined operation amount, the focus guideframe is displayed in the center of the enlarged display.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are flowcharts showing control when the “captured imageenlarged display” function is enabled and the digital camera 10 isoperated at the time that the “focus guide” function is in an enabledstate in the second embodiment. The flowcharts of FIGS. 9A and 9B arerealized, by the CPU 119 a reading out a computer program from the ROM119 b and then extracting and executing the program in the RAM 119 c.This flowchart is started by the “captured image enlarged display”function being enabled at the time that the “focus guide” function is inan enabled state, when the operation mode is the shooting mode.Basically, the processing is similar to FIGS. 6A and 6B, with theprocessing of steps S901 and S902 differing.

In step S901, the CPU 119 a stores the number of times of the operationinstructing moving of the enlarging position determined in step S607 inthe RAM 119 c. In step S902, the CPU 119 a then determines whether thenumber of times of the operation exceeds a predetermined amount. If itis determined that the number of times of the operation exceeds apredetermined number of times, the processing advances to step S610, andif it is determined that the number of times of the operation does notexceed the predetermined number of times, the processing returns to stepS604.

As described above, in the second embodiment, whether or not to move theposition of the focus guide frame to the center of the enlarged image(whether or not to display a new focus guide in the center of theenlarged image) is determined by whether or not the operation for movingthe enlarging position exceeds a predetermined number of times. Thisassumes that, given that the user has input the enlarging position moveoperation a plurality of times, the user is checking a different focusstate from the position where the focus guide frame is positioned. Notethat, in the second embodiment, it is determined whether the enlargingposition move operation exceeds a predetermined number of times, butwhether or not to move the position of the focus guide frame may bedetermined by the amount of movement from a position after the “capturedimage enlarged display” function is enabled, rather than by apredetermined number of times. That is, a configuration may be adoptedin which, in the case where the amount of movement of the enlarging areaaccording to the moving instruction exceeds a predetermined amount, thefocus guide is moved to the center of the enlarged image (a new focusguide is displayed in the center of the enlarged image). Furthermore, inthe first and second embodiments (step S611), the central area ofenlarged display is set as the focus measurement area, and the focusguide frame is displayed in that area, but the present invention is notlimited thereto. For example, any position designated by the user may beused, in which case, the user is able to designate that position inadvance on a menu or the like, for example. Also, a fixed position otherthan the center of the screen may be used, such as the lower center ofthe screen.

Note that the various types of control described above as beingperformed by a microcomputer 119 (the CPU 119 a) of the digital camera10 may be performed by one piece of hardware, or overall control of theapparatus may be performed by multiple pieces of hardware (e.g., aplurality of processors and circuits) sharing the processing.

Also, although the present invention has been described in detail basedon preferred embodiments thereof, the invention is not limited to thesespecific embodiments, and various modes in a range that does not departfrom the spirit of the invention are also encompassed therein.Furthermore, the aforementioned embodiments are merely illustrative ofthe invention, and it is also possible to combine the embodiments asappropriate.

Also, in the aforementioned embodiments, the case where the presentinvention is applied to a digital camera was described as an example,but the present invention is not limited to this example, and isapplicable to any device having image capture means and a function ofperforming live view display of images captured by the image capturemeans. That is, the present invention is applicable to a personalcomputer, a PDA, a mobile phone terminal, a portable image viewer, agame machine or the like incorporating or connected to a camera.

Also, the present invention is not limited to an image capture apparatusitself, and is also applicable to a control apparatus that communicateswith an image capture apparatus (including a network camera) via cableor wireless communication, and controls the image capture apparatusremotely. Apparatuses that control an image capture apparatus remotelyinclude a smart phone, a tablet PC and a desktop PC, for example. Animage capture apparatus can be controlled remotely by notifying commandsfor causing the image capture apparatus to perform various operationsand settings from the control apparatus side, based on operationsperformed on the control apparatus side and processing performed on thecontrol apparatus side, Also, a configuration may be adopted in whichlive view images captured with an image capture apparatus are receivedvia cable or wireless communication to enable display on the controlapparatus side.

Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2017-238917, filed Dec. 13, 2017 which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety,

What is claimed is:
 1. A display control apparatus comprising: a memory;and at least one processor and/or at least one circuit to perform theoperations of the following units: an enlargement unit configured togenerate an enlarged image obtained by enlarging an enlarging area of acaptured image; a moving unit configured to move the enlarging areaaccording to a moving instruction from a user; and a control unitconfigured to display the enlarged image generated by the enlargementunit on a display unit, wherein the control unit executes: first displayprocessing for displaying, on the display unit, an enlarged image of anenlarging area that includes a first focus measurement area and a focusguide that corresponds to the first focus measurement area, seconddisplay processing for, in response to the moving instruction and if themoving instruction does not satisfy a. predetermined condition,displaying, on the display unit, an enlarged image of an enlarging areawhose position was changed by the moving instruction and a focus guidethat corresponds to the first focus measurement area, and third displayprocessing for, in response to the moving instruction and if the movinginstruction satisfies the predetermined condition, newly setting asecond focus measurement area in a predetermined area of an enlargingarea whose position was changed by the moving instruction, anddisplaying, on the display unit, an enlarged image of the enlarging areaand a focus guide that corresponds to the second focus measurement area.2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the focus guide includesdisplay of a frame indicating the corresponding focus measurement area.3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit changesa display form of the focus guide based on a focus state of the focusmeasurement area to which the focus guide corresponds.
 4. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is that theentire first focus measurement area leaves the enlarging area whoseposition was changed by the moving instruction.
 5. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is that anarea of the first focus measurement area exceeding a predeterminedpercentage leaves the enlarging area whose position was changed by themoving instruction.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein themoving instruction is an instruction for moving the enlarging area by apredetermined amount, and the predetermined condition is that a numberof times of the moving instruction exceeds a predetermined number oftimes.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predeterminedcondition is that a movement amount of the enlarging area according tothe moving instruction exceeds a predetermined amount.
 8. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is that thefirst focus measurement area leaves a specific area inside the enlargingarea whose position was changed by the moving instruction.
 9. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined area of theenlarging area is a central area of the enlarging area.
 10. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined area of theenlarging area is an area that a user is allowed to designate inadvance.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the firstdisplay processing involves displaying, on the display unit, an enlargedimage obtained by enlarging an image of an enlarging area, of thecaptured image, centering on the first focus measurement area.
 12. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit sets the secondfocus measurement area, and thereafter stores the first focusmeasurement area in a memory unit as a sub-frame area.
 13. The apparatusaccording to claim
 12. wherein the control unit changes display of thefocus guide corresponding to the first focus measurement area to displayof a sub-frame, in a case where at least part of the first focusmeasurement area is located within the enlarging area when the secondfocus measurement area is set.
 14. The apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the control unit includes a switching unit configured to switcha target of the focus guide between the first focus measurement area andthe second focus measurement area, and the control unit, in response toswitching by the switching unit, changes the enlarging area to anenlarging area centering on the focus measurement area after theswitching.
 15. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controlunit changes a display form of the focus guide based on a degree offocus of the focus measurement area to which the focus guidecorresponds.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controlunit changes a display form of the focus guide based on a defocus amountacquired in relation to the focus measurement area to which the focusguide corresponds.
 17. A control method for a display control apparatus,comprising: displaying, on a display unit, an enlarged image of anenlarging area, which is in a captured image, that includes a firstfocus measurement area and a focus guide that corresponds to the firstfocus measurement area; moving the enlarging area in the captured image,in response to a moving instruction from a user that does not satisfy apredetermined condition, and displaying, on the display unit, anenlarged image of an enlarging area whose position was changed by themoving instruction and a focus guide that corresponds to the first focusmeasurement area; and newly setting, in response to a moving instructionfrom a user that satisfies the predetermined condition, a second focusmeasurement area in a predetermined area of an enlarging area whoseposition was changed by the moving instruction, and displaying, on thedisplay unit, an enlarged image of the enlarging area and a focus guidethat corresponds to the second focus measurement area.
 18. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computerprogram for causing a computer to execute a control method for a displaycontrol apparatus, the control method comprising: displaying, on adisplay unit, an enlarged image of an enlarging area, which is in acaptured image, that includes a first focus measurement area and a focusguide that corresponds to the first focus measurement area; moving theenlarging area in the captured image, in response to a movinginstruction from a user that does not satisfy a predetermined condition,and displaying, on the display unit, an enlarged image of an enlargingarea whose position was changed by the moving instruction and a focusguide that corresponds to the first focus measurement area; and newlysetting, in response to a moving instruction from a user that satisfiesthe predetermined condition, a second focus measurement area in apredetermined area of an enlarging area whose position was changed bythe moving instruction, and displaying, on the display unit, an enlargedimage of the enlarging area and a focus guide that corresponds to thesecond focus measurement area.